Street lighting improvments announced in £5.3m scheme across borough

Street lighting around Bedford borough is being upgraded over the next three years in a £5.3million project which will also help save on energy bills.

Bedford Borough Council has been awarded the funds by the Department for Transport to make borough-wide improvements to street lighting, and adds to the £1million already pledged to street lighting improvements.

The scheme will provide new low energy lanterns, replace old columns as required and introduce a central management system to control lighting.

These changes are expected to make substantial improvements to the quality of street lighting across the borough and also provide a greener alternative to current lighting.

Once the scheme is completed, the borough council expects energy consumption levels to fall to about half of current levels, a significant decrease.

The council is responsible for around 13,000 street lights within Bedford borough and as such, the new energy efficient lighting would save around £190,000 per annum in energy bills.

A Bedford Borough Council spokesperson said: “Street lighting plays an important role in terms of road safety, community safety and promoting economic activity. The council has already started working on street lighting within the borough and will have replaced or repaired all units by 2018.

“Our aim is for residents, businesses and visitors to recognise that Bedford is a great place to live, work and visit; with improvement schemes like the street lighting, bus stop and footway works taking place across the borough, we are continuing to invest in the town for today and tomorrow.”